In the six weeks since the July 16 flood, our region has made remarkable progress.
Families are receiving financial assistance. Case managers are helping survivors navigate recovery. Small businesses are getting support. Home repairs are underway, and longer-term housing programs are taking shape across the region.
We have been able to move quickly because we did not start from scratch.
The relationships and recovery infrastructure built after the 2025 flood were already here. Since July 16, more than 600 households have received emergency financial assistance from Community Foundation grantees. The Foundation has extended its funding commitment for long-term disaster case management through December 2027, and our $5 million grant benefiting flood-damaged small businesses has been put to work. We are also moving substantial resources into home repair, rebuilding and other housing solutions.
We know this approach can work. After the 2025 flood, the Community Foundation funded a variety of recovery efforts with the help of local partners: displaced renters became homeowners, Habitat for Humanity Kerr County expanded its rebuilding work, Hunt Preservation Society repaired entire neighborhoods. Airbnb.org assisted with temporary housing needs and helped families remain near their jobs, schools and support systems. The case management network built last year was ready to respond again this year.
No single organization can recover a community. The Community Foundation’s role is to put charitable resources behind strong partners, fill gaps that government and insurance cannot, and remain engaged long after national attention fades.
An enormous amount of work still lies ahead. Housing recovery will take time. Businesses are rebuilding. Families are tired. And our communities must continue working toward greater resilience.
But six weeks after July 16, recovery is taking shape, and we are hopeful about what comes next.
We are hopeful because we have seen what is possible when communities, nonprofits, businesses and donors work together with a shared purpose. We are better prepared than we were a year ago, our partners are stronger, and the lessons learned from the 2025 flood are already helping families recover more quickly today.
There is a long road ahead, but we are not starting from the beginning. We are moving forward with experience, trusted partnerships and a commitment to stay with this work for as long as our communities need us.
